


Tip of my Tongue

by Beachdreamy



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV), Umbrella Academy
Genre: Aged Up, F/M, Fluff, Reader Insert, he deserves love, i just want five to be happy okay, klaus and five are roomies, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-05-20 06:37:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19371394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beachdreamy/pseuds/Beachdreamy
Summary: The three times Five almost tells you that he loves you...And the one time that he does.





	1. Preface

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in an alternate universe where Five never went to the future and disappeared and all that jazz. He grew up with his siblings and at age 18 the academy was disbanded (well except for that idiot Luther). So now Five lives in a tiny apartment with Klaus and is in school ok? 
> 
> I really wanted to make this a reader insert just because it felt more endearing? Maybe? Or maybe I’m just dumb lmao
> 
> Anyway, I plan on taking some time with this one because I want it to be really sweet and well written so any suggestions or comments are much appreciated!
> 
>  
> 
> P.s. the title comes from that song, I’ve Been Waiting by Falloutboy and like two other people that I forget... “It’s hard to miss you when you are always on the tip of my tongue.”

You and Five had met during a debate and public speech seminar and you had become fast friends, bonding over the stupidity of the professor who was supposed to be knowledgeable yet displayed terrible public speaking skills himself. 

As Prof. Franklin stuttered up at the front of the hall, you had turned to the guy next to you, relieved to see that he shared your exasperated expression, and said, “If I have to listen to this man say um one more time im going to um kill myself.” 

He chuckled, the look of irritation on his face subsiding a bit, “But that doesn’t help anyone else- you’ll be the only one out of your misery. It’d be better to kill him, instead” 

You pretended to mull over the idea before responding, “Yeah, you’re right,” and then in a surge of bravery you found yourself adding on, “But I can’t kill him on my own. You better give me your phone number so we can properly plan this. Together.”

The guy smiled coyly and scribbled something on the otherwise blank note paper before him. Your stomach was doing somersaults- he was really cute and you hoped he would play along. You smiled back at him. 

“Of course. I’d be honored to help you commit premeditated murder.” And then he handed you a piece of paper with his phone number and what you assumed was his name written beneath it, Five. 

The next few weeks consisted of you and Five texting, talking, hanging out and just getting to know each other. He told you just enough about his family to explain his name, but you felt the tension during that conversation and didn’t pry any further into his home life. Instead, you talked with him about both of your personal interests, school, the things you wanted to do in life, and any sort of odd question you could think up. 

Five was rough around the edges, but somehow you found him incredibly easy to talk to. You found out that he was enrolled in the public speaking class to overcome his slight fear of crowds (well, more of a general distrust of mass amounts of people) and that he was very interested in science and mathematics, hoping to become a professor to focus on research. He was already a lab assistant for a prominent physics professor in the graduate studies department. You shared with him your dream of becoming a director, and how you were worried that going into the industry with no connections wouldn’t bode well for you. 

While he always seemed so confident around you, you realized that Five didn’t have many friends because he tended to push people away. You felt lucky that he hadn’t pushed you away, in fact he had opened up quite a bit to you in just the few weeks that you had known each other. Some light flirting back and forth and lingering touches on the arm and thigh had your heart racing but you weren’t sure if he was just like that or if he actually liked you. 

It was after a late night coffee run while studying for midterms together that Five asked you on a proper date. He seemed off that night, more quiet than usual and a little less on it with his wit as if his mind was preoccupied, which had you slightly worried. At some point the conversation drifted away from studying to your love of science fiction movies and out of the blue he suggested going to see a movie that you had mentioned wanting to see sometime last week. 

The butterflies in your stomach had fluttered at his remembrance of such a small detail and before you could even ask him to clarify he reached his hand out to yours over the table in the library and said, “Like, as a date.” 

You could already feel the blush rising to your cheeks as you responded, “Yeah, of course.”


	2. The First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time he almost said it was on the first date.

When Five arrived at your apartment to pick you up he was nervous but working hard not to let it show. 

Quiet curses escaped him as he paced the sidewalk in front of your door. He was supposed to be calm and collected and above erratic emotions at all times, he was Five for crying out loud!  
But something about you made him feel so utterly uncollected, like you unravelled his confidence with your smile and charm. And you did it with such an ease that he couldn’t even be mad. If anything, it enticed him further.

He loved that you had been the one to initiate a friendship, and the way that your sense of humor had melded into his perfectly. He had especially loved the way he made you blush when he had grabbed your hand and announced that he meant for the outing to be a real date. 

Now, as he stood outside of your apartment he was very, very nervous. This was nothing like the nerves he felt before missions as a child. Back then he always knew what to do. He was briefed on the problem, the plan of attack, the expected outcome and then he and his siblings would seamlessly execute it. He was trained to be prepared for anything during the academy, but this? A first date with a pretty girl? This was definitely not in the handbook. 

Five grimaced as he remembered getting dressed that evening, changing three times before settling on plain jeans and a button up and messing with his hair for a solid 15 minutes. Klaus had teased him relentlessly, standing at the doorway of the bathroom that they shared in their tiny apartment. He singsonged, “OoOooOoh Five’s got it baaad!” 

The look Five had given his brother was just short of deadly and Klaus had retreated with Goodbye and Hello up in the air, shouting once he reached the living room/kitchen, “Just saying, I haven’t seen you this jazzed since Griddy’s started selling their coffee beans by the pound, dear brother!” Five mentally added this experience to the list of brotherly encounters that made him regret agreeing to share an apartment with his seance brother. But as tough as Five appeared on the outside, he couldn’t stand for Klaus to be living on the streets and had ultimately agreed to their arrangement. While Five was at university, Klaus would share an apartment with him. He had even helped Klaus find a job at one of the pizza places near campus. 

Five rolled his eyes and then sighed at his reflection. This was as good as his hair was going to get, so he reluctantly grabbed his bomber jacket and left to get you, his heart beating like a fucking hummingbird. 

His ability to jump meant it didn’t take him long to arrive at yours at all. Five had actually texted you saying he was on his way before even starting in on his hair. This way it wouldn’t be suspicious when he got there in no time. 

Yeah, he had told you a bit about his family, but he hadn’t told you... everything. Hell, you had probably googled him by now and knew everything anyway, but he didn’t want to scare you off so he played it cool. He had appeared a block away from your flat just to be safe and then walked the rest of the way. 

Having had enough of his nerves, he wrung his hands out and finally knocked on your door. When you opened it he found himself at a loss for words. Here he was, the smartest person you knew, standing in front of you, completely dumbfounded by your presence. You pulled him into a hug. The smell of his minty aftershave filled the air and you found yourself sighing contentedly into the hug. 

Once you separated, he addressed you by name, “You look really beautiful.” The flattery was nice, even though you were only in jeans and a simple top. 

“You don’t clean up too bad, yourself, Five.” You thought you saw a hint of a blush under his collar but couldn’t be sure if it was only a trick of the light. The sun was setting after all, and the world seemed to be bathed in a rosy glow. 

Five held his hand out to you and you happily accepted it as you began the short walk to the movie theater, together. 

“So how was your day, Five?” You asked him looking up to meet his eyes as you walked, leaning into him a bit. 

He smiled down at you sweetly, “It was alright. I spent my morning finishing grading all of the lab reports for the week.” 

“Oh god, that does not sound fun,” You grimaced just thinking about the task, “but after all, I’m not much of a stem person beyond the basic science involved in film and photography.” 

Five laughed, his thumb rubbing back and forth against your hand in a comforting way, “It wasn’t as bad as it might seem. I was mainly working to get them done so I didn’t have anything else going on tonight.” He gave you another smile and your stomach erupted with butterflies. 

“Oh? And what is it that you have going on tonight?” You asked with a sly smile on your lips. 

“Well, you see, I asked this girl on a date and we’re supposed to go see a movie she’s been looking forward to. I heard the movie’s boring though and terribly scientifically inaccurate!” He played along and you scoffed at his comment, playfully hitting his shoulder. Still, you found yourself giggling. His cocky smile only grew. 

“Well she’s a lucky girl, isn’t she? Whoever she is.” You winked. 

The two of you fell into a natural silence, letting the scenery along the route to the theater distract you from the butterflies in your stomach. You knew deep down that you had no reason to be nervous, but still, the excitement of a first date was causing the buds of nerves to blossom like flowers in your stomach and up through your chest. 

About half way to the theater you stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, across from a small park, and took a moment to admire it. The trees looked so green in the light of dusk and there was a wooden swing that just looked so serene. 

“Everything is so beautiful right now, Five, don’t you think?” You looked up at him intently with a look of genuine curiosity and found him already staring down at you. Five didn’t know what to say. The world as it was, bathed in light pink and glittering in the sunset, was only half as beautiful as you. He wasn’t answering, lost in thought, so you waved your hand in front of his face. “Five, are you alright.” He grabbed your moving hand out of the air so that he was now holding both of your hands. 

He was looking at you so intently, the blush was already in full force against your cheeks. You stared back at him, with that curious look in your eyes mixed with a hint of concern. 

He began to speak, “I...” 

I love you...

...Is what he had wanted to say. Five scolded himself, he had only known you for three weeks he couldn’t love you already. 

Could he? 

Even if he did love you, he couldn’t say that now- talk about scaring someone off. 

He argued with himself in his mind as you stared back at him. God your eyes were beautiful and he had to admit that he did enjoy being the object of your gaze.

Well shit, what was he supposed to do now? He had been standing there like an idiot for a hot second. 

And then Five began to smile as his gaze turned from your eyes to your lips, the slightest hint of a blush rising to his cheeks. 

“What is it Five?” You whispered, looking up at him through your eyelashes. You were acutely aware of your hands in his, and the way he had drawn you in closer without you even realizing. You were so close now, almost pressed together, standing in the middle of the sidewalk as if the world belonged to the two of you and time was yours to stop. He was looking down at you with a wild look in his eyes that made you shiver even though the weather was perfectly pleasant.

The shiver did not go unnoticed by Five and before you could question him again, he was shrugging off his bomber jacket and slinging it across your shoulders. You missed holding his hands, but you had to admit you were perfectly content with his jacket that enveloped you in his scent. 

“I... want to kiss you.” 

You blinked up at him, “What’s stopping you?”

And then he was pulling you into him by his jacket and you were holding his face in your hands, sharing a kiss as twilight danced around you. 

You may have been a little bit late to the movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I’m doing an okay job of writing Five. It’s difficult to get his wit and his knowledge along with the fluff i want him to have.   
> Let me know if you have any suggestions or even just a regular comment!


	3. The secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second time Five almost tells you is in the dark.

When Five dropped you off at your apartment, a solid fifteen minutes had been spent in front of your door “saying goodnight.” Your roommate had teased you for that but in all honesty you couldn’t be bothered. Five was great and you had really enjoyed the date... and the kissing... but mainly the date! 

And while you expected a call or a text (or anything!) from Five the next morning, you hadn’t heard from him at all. Lunchtime rolled around and you had just about done every chore you could think of to distract yourself. By two o’clock, with no house work left to do, you decided to put your pride aside and send Five a text. Just a simple, hey. 

To avoid the temptation to keep checking your phone you turned it over and finally began writing up a paper for class that procrastination was getting the best of. Your phone dinged several times and your heart sped up, but each time it was only your roommate or a friend from class. No Five. By the time the sun was setting, you were less offended by his lack of communication and more concerned. Surely this wasn’t like him? You decided to send him another text, “everything ok?” But you didn’t hear back from him. That night you went to sleep rather worried. 

The next morning you spent extra time getting ready for your public speaking class, thinking that Five would be there. However, when you sat in your usual seat you found his empty. Someone tried to sit in his chair but you politely told them you were saving it for a friend. 

Unfortunately by the time Professor Franklin began his lecture Five was still nowhere to be seen so, to your dismay, a latecomer ended up stealing the spot. Now you were really worried, Five was missing classes?  
He had texted you once he got home from your date so that you wouldn’t worry but that was it. “I’m home now, goodnight.” Nothing since. You tried to not let your anxieties get the best of you as you made your way through a day full of classes. 

When you got home that night and made yourself some dinner, you sat at the table staring at your phone willing it to ring. A solid 30 minutes passed by, the food was untouched, and the phone had yet to ring. Sighing, you dialed Five’s phone number. With each ring your heart rate sped up and your mind began swirling with overthought possibilities. 

What if he hadn’t responded to you because he didn’t want to talk to you?

What if he wasn’t in trouble and instead just didn’t like you anymore? 

What if-

“Hey leave a message...” and then the phone beeped. Great. 

“Uh, hey Five, I was just calling to check on you. You uh, you weren’t in class today, and you haven’t said anything since... since Saturday...” unsure of what else to say, you let silence fill the rest of the message. It beeped to let you know your time was up and the message was saved. You scolded yourself for sounding so stupid. God, what would Five think? You tried to eat your dinner and then settled in for an early night of sleep, unable to get any school work done. 

The next time you heard your phone ring it was 3:37 am. 

You didn’t actually wake up because of it. Your roommate had thrown a pillow at you because it had woken her up and upon looking at your phone you saw that you had several missed calls and texts from Five. 

“Hey I’m really sorry I haven’t talked to you lately I’m gonna call you to explain”

Missed call. 

“Shit I just realized its like 3am sorry”

Ten minutes later, another text. 

“Screw it, maybe you’re awake and just not by your phone”

Missed call. 

“Shit okay when you get this please call me back if it’s later in the day I might not be able to answer” 

So, in your sleepy haze you called Five back. It rang five times and just when you thought it was going to go to voicemail again he picked up. 

Suddenly you didn’t know what to say. “Hey,” you whispered, tired and trying to not wake your roommate up again.

“Shit did I wake you up? I’m so sorry,” you hadn’t heard his voice in two days and he sounded so sincere, it was different from his normal tone, which threw you off for a moment. 

“It’s fine, what’s going on Five are you okay?” 

“I’m fine. I’m so sorry for worrying you, nothing happened,” he began to explain. 

“Oh,” you said it so quietly that Five’s heart began to break thinking about how he had made you worry over nothing. “What’s going on then?” You rolled over in bed and pulled the covers up to your shoulders suddenly feeling cold. You wished you were wrapped up in his jacket again, or better yet, his arms. 

“The professor whose lab I work in had a big breakthrough on his research Sunday morning so he asked me to help him. I just got home for the first time in like 48 hours. I’m sorry I couldn’t call you until now.” 

You felt the butterflies stirring as you imagined an exhausted Five getting home and calling you before he could even eat anything. 

“That’s okay Five. I’m glad everything is okay.” And you would have sounded happier for him, getting that amazing opportunity of real lab experience, but it was the middle of the night and your pride was still a little damaged. 

He seemed relieved, “It looks like I’ll be working with him at least for the rest of the week.” 

“Oh,” there was that sad little oh again. Five wanted nothing more than to be there with you, curled up in your bed together, warm and content. 

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I had fun on our date and I...I missed you in class today,” the chuckle from Five made being awake at 3:30 worth it. 

“I had a great time and I miss you, too. And stupid Professor Franklin, God that guy is an idiot but its an entertaining class with you there. Are you tired? You should go back to sleep-“ he tried to convince you but you cut him off.

“No, no, tell me more about the research you’re working on.” And in your sleepy haze you added on, “I’ve missed talking with you.” You could almost hear his smile through the phone and your stomach erupted in butterflies, again. 

 

When you woke up in the morning, your phone was on the pillow next to you and the call was ended. The last thing you remembered was Five telling you about his Professor’s weird organization methods and how he would do it completely differently. The call time on the phone said 3 hours and 13 minutes. Five must have let the call go for a long time before hanging up since you definitely were not awake for that long. You blushed at the thought of him listening to you sleep. You had never been known to snore, but still, you hoped that you hadn’t during the call. 

You had a text from Five from around 6 am. 

“Goodnight sorry again for keeping you up”

You smiled. What a great way to start your day. 

For the rest of the week you talked on the phone in the middle of the night, moped over Five’s absence in class and brought him lunch twice. He had tried to refuse the nice gesture but you had argued with him, “I know you’re not eating or sleeping properly right now. Please, Five, just take the goddamn food.” He had blushed and accepted the offer, ignoring the laughter of the other lab assistants. You kissed him on the cheek before you left and somehow it made you miss him more. 

You had only known each other for a month, but it felt like you were already so close. You truly felt that you could tell him anything and you found yourself wanting to be around him all the time. You wanted to learn everything about him, to be his confidant and to support him in every way. Needless to say, the week was rough, and your roommate and friends were annoyed with the situation as well. You were easily irritated and moody and their teasing didn’t help at all. 

So, when Five called you on Friday night and told you he was going to pick you up in twenty minutes you were more than ecstatic. 

Five finished cleaning up the lab in record time and after a rushed goodbye to his professor he jumped to your door. He knew he should have been crazy excited about the lab work opportunity since this had been a goal of his for quite awhile, but not being able to talk to you beyond the hushed midnight phone calls and the two times you had brought him lunch was driving him crazy. 

He knew he looked like shit, he had barely slept all week- since most of the time he had to sleep he spent talking to you- and the only real food he had eaten was the lunch you had brought him. Klaus had left pizza from work out on the counter, which Five had gratefully accepted, but beyond that he was hungry and mentally and physically exhausted. Despite all of this, he could not wait to see you. 

Leaning against your doorframe, he knocked twice. Your roommate answered and he gave her a charming smile. Your roommate sighed with relief, “Thank GOD!” And then she called for you by name, “Your boyfriend is here!” She left and soon enough you appeared in her absence, looking cute as ever. 

“Your boyfriend, huh? I like the sound of that,” Five winked at you and you giggled.

“Me too.”

He grabbed your hand and you started walking towards his place. 

“So, what’s the plan?” You looked up at him with the biggest smile that had graced your face all week. 

“I’m going to make you dinner to say thank you.” His smile melted your heart. 

“Thank you for what?”

“Keeping me sane, babe,” you blushed at the new pet name. It sounded so good coming from his mouth. He liked the way that he made you blush, and if you were being honest with yourself, you did too. 

With your clasped hands swinging back and forth between the two of you, you walked back to Five’s apartment talking about anything and everything that had happened during your week apart. 

When you arrived at Five’s door, he hoped silently that Klaus had put on pants. He had called his brother and told him that he was bringing you over for dinner, but that certainly didn’t guarantee that Klaus would be dressed decently. 

His worry must have been showing on his face because you questioned him, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he leaned down to give you a soft kiss on the lips, when you pulled apart he said, “yeah, everything is fine.” You raised an eyebrow at him, “Ready to meet my brother?” 

He had told you about his siblings, and especially about Klaus since they lived together, currently. You weren’t particularly worried about meeting him though, in fact, you were kind of excited to meet someone else in Five’s life. He didn’t really have friends, so meeting his family was something you were interested in. 

When Five opened the door, you had a clear view of Klaus sitting on the couch, wearing nothing but a leather skirt, smoking a joint. “Five! You’re home!” He exclaimed, rising to meet the two of you at the door. 

Five sighed, “Would you like a medal for the observation?” You swatted his arm. 

“Don’t be rude Five,” You rolled your eyes at him and turned back to Klaus. “Hi Klaus I’m-“ 

He cut you off, “Oh, believe me, I know who you are. Our favorite little jerk won’t stop talking about you!” And then Klaus was enveloping you in a big hug. You laughed as he offered you the small remainder of his joint and accepted it. 

“Yes! A woman who partakes! She’s a keeper Five,” he winked at his brother who was now leaning against the kitchen counter waiting for the spectacle that was Klaus to be over. 

“I could have told you that before she took a hit, Klaus.” You blushed at his comment. 

Five thought you were a keeper. 

“Well then, I need to get ready for work!” And with that Klaus was gliding away to his room. 

“I told you, he’s... a lot.” 

You joined Five in the kitchen, where he had begun grabbing pots and pans and ingredients, arranging them around the stove, “I like him.” You smiled and wrapped your arms around him from behind. He turned around and returned the embrace and your heart filled with content. What a great way to spend Friday night. 

Too soon, Five pulled away and began making dinner. You offered to help but he refused adamantly, “I said I was making you dinner as a thank you, that means you don’t get to help.” So, instead you settled for sitting on the edge of the counter and keeping Five company as he cooked. 

Eventually, Klaus emerged from his bedroom and announced that he was leaving and would be back late. “Have fun and be safe kids! Don’t wait up!” He shouted as he closed the door behind himself. 

About 30 minutes later, you and Five were set at the small table between the kitchen and the living room, eating pasta with homemade sauce, drinking a bottle of wine. “I thought your birthday wasn’t until October?” You had raised a questioning eyebrow at Five from across the table. 

He replied, “It is. Klaus has had a fake since he was like, sixteen.”

“Makes sense,” you laughed. Klaus really wasn’t bad at all. 

Dinner was filled with pleasant conversation, both of you happy to be in each other’s presence again, talking about anything that came to mind. Once the food was gone, you opened a new bottle of wine and moved to the couch. 

“What’s the biggest bird that you think you could take?” 

“What?” Five had laughed. 

“You heard me! Like in a fight. What’s the biggest bird you think you’d be able to fight off?” 

“Well I’m a good fighter, so a pretty big bird, I’d say.” 

“Really, you’re a good fighter?” You eyed him dubiously. Five wasn’t scrawny by any means, but he didn’t exactly look like the fighting type. 

“I’m a great fighter,” he smiled in a sort of shy, unsure way. This look was new to you and it made your stomach turn. 

Five thought to himself about your reaction to meeting Klaus. If that was any indication, he didn’t have to be worried about scaring you off with his powers. 

Taking a deep breath, he took a chance, “Remember when I told you about my family and my childhood...” 

And then in no time, Five’s secret was out. He was completely exposed to you, waiting for confirmation of your acceptance. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes were so full of emotion it almost made you want to cry. You wondered how many other people had known about him and his past and decided that they no longer wanted to be around him. Suddenly a lot of things started making sense. 

“Five... That’s amazing... You’re amazing,” you were looking at him with so much pride, both of your hearts were aching and it was as if the only cure was physical touch. With the near empty bottle discarded on the coffee table, you kissed Five as if it was the only way to show him that you weren’t going anywhere. He kissed back.

Right before Five fell asleep that night, as he pulled your body closer to his under the covers he knew. If he wasn’t sure about loving you before, he was definitely sure now. 

It was such a realization that Five almost said it out loud, but he didn’t want to wake you. Instead he snuggled closer and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooow okay I've been in the car all day so I had loads of time to work on this. That being said, I don’t think the rest of the chapters will come as fast since I will have to go back to writing at night when I get some free time lol 
> 
> I hope you like the new chapter, I really appreciate the kudos (“:


	4. Over coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The third time he almost tells you is over coffee.

The next couple of weeks went by in a daze. You found yourself spending more and more time with Five. Sometimes he would come over to your apartment and you would cook dinner together. Or, you would meet up on campus (in the rare instance that your schedules aligned) and get boba or smoothies, or just lay out on the lawn together and do work. As the weeks went by you also found yourself spending more time at Five’s apartment, even when he wasn’t there- you and Klaus got along great, afterall. 

Five’s lab workload decreased, but on the nights when he was still working until 2 or 3 am you would usually come over around 9 or 10 and hang out with Klaus for a bit, or do your homework, or just fuck around doing whatever to entertain yourself until you felt tired and then fell asleep in Five’s bed. Sometimes you would wake up when Five got home and then the night would be spent more awake than asleep. Other times you would sleep right through his return only to wake up in Five’s arms, warm and content. 

On one of Five's late nights, you found yourself so wrapped up in editing a project that you didn't go to his apartment as had become customary. Instead, after your final class around 4pm, you fixed yourself some chai and settled in at your desk to knock out the last of the editing. The project was due the next afternoon, and you wouldn't have time to finish it that day, so you thought Five not being around to distract you would be in your (and your GPAs) best interest. Some of the audio wasn't lining up right with the video clips and you were forced to spend a long time sorting the problem out which dragged everything out later into the night. The only few times you got up was to pee or refill your chai. Sighing, you realized it was already 1am and you still had a lot of work to do. Your head was pounding and you wanted nothing more than to curl up under the covers and sleep. Time moved so fast when you needed it most and sadly, you had work left. 

Of course, it was right then that Five decided to call you. "Five, I'm so busy right now one of my audio files was corrupted and then it fucked up all the a/v syncing and I have so much left to do and I have so little time and I can't do badly on this assignment because then I'll fa-" You could feel yourself slipping into an anxiety episode as the panic rose with each word. Some part of you was glad that Five cut you off so that you didn't spiral quite as far.

"Woah, woah, slow down babe. Take a deep breath. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, since you didn't come over." His voice was full of concern and your heart swelled with emotion. You knew he had probably just gotten home and for a moment you let your mind wander. 

Shaking your head to refocus your thoughts you said, “Yeah, it's just I have to finish this tonight so I needed to stay home and work on it."

"That's fine babe," Five could hear the frustration in your voice and sensed something going on beyond the stress of a looming deadline so after a short pause, he asked in a sweet, caring voice that almost made you burst into tears, "Want me to come over?"

The silence grew to the point that Five was about to ask if you were still there when you finally spoke in a soft, broken voice, "yes."

Less than a minute and a flash of blue light later, Five was in your room, holding you in his arms. If you hadn't been in such an emotional state, you would've felt embarassed, but Five didn't mind the few tears that soaked through his shirt. He just wanted you to be okay. Rubbing circles into your back to calm you down, Five observed your room. "Why do you have four different mugs in here?"

Sniveling, you replied, "I kept forgetting my mug when I went to get more chai."

Five's brow was set in a dep furrow, "When was the last time you ate? Like real food."

You took a minute to respond, struggling to remember when your last meal was. "I guess breakfast... I didn't have time to eat lunch between my classes. And I... I forgot to eat dinner." The look of concern on his face made you want to crumble. Instead, you burrowed your head into his chest, letting yourself rest for a moment. It was almost like being around Five helped relieve your headache a bit. 

“Okay, I’m going to make us food and you can work until then. Once the food is done I’ll bring it in here and you can take a break while we eat. Sound good?” Praying that eating food would make your headache completely disappear, you nodded. Reluctantly, you peeled yourself off of Five and moved back to your desk. 

You texted your roommate that Five was over so she wouldn’t be freaked out if she saw him in the kitchen and then got back to work. For the next fifteen minutes you worked on adding in background music and changing sound levels for various clips to make everything blend together. By the time Five was finished cooking, you were done with the task at hand and really only needed to finish up a couple of the graphics. Your head was still pounding, and your nose was running due to the previous crying episode, but you were happy to almost be done. 

He re-entered with two bowls of macaroni and cheese and a grilled cheese sandwich for each of you and set one of the meals down in front of you on the desk. You shot him a grateful smile and saved your progress before shutting the laptop off. As Five took a seat on the edge of your bed and you turned in your seat to face him he pulled a bottle of aspirin out of his pocket, “headache?”

“How did you know?” He tossed you the bottle and you gratefully took 2. 

“You haven’t eaten since breakfast and you were wincing a lot earlier.”

“Oh." The sad, quiet oh made its first appearance of the night, "Thank you.” 

Silence filled the room as you both ate your food. You hadn't realized how hungry you were, but once you started eating, you felt like you hadn't eaten in years. Five chuckled as you scarved down the food and you glared at him, "Don't judge. I'm hungry." 

"Believe me, I'm not judging." He smiled coyly at you.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" 

He chuckled softly again, "You're funny. You know that?”

For some reason, his comment rubbed you the wrong way. Suddenly, all of the stress that you had felt previously came rushing back like the wave of a tsunami crashing against you. You had a very important project to finish and here you were, eating a fucking grilled cheese sandwich. "Hey, I'm just trrying to get my shit done, okay? I didn't ask you to come here so you could criticize me.”

Five expression changed from happy to hurt in a split second. Your heart was beating so fast, and despite the aspirin, your killer headache was back in full force. He spoke in a leveled tone, “I’m not criticizing you. Taking a break is good for you, your body needs to res-“

“Oh and you know so much about rest huh? You’re one to talk. You work all hours of the day in that lab, missing classes and meals to do shit for that professor. But what, just because my work isn’t stem means that I’m not allowed to be as devoted to it? To spend as much time on it?” The release of weight from your chest allowed you to breathe again. 

Five’s jaw was clenched, and when he spoke his tone scared you, “I never said any of that.” 

“But you were thinking it.”

“I thought I was the powered one here. Didn’t realize I was dating a mind reader.”

You scoffed. “God! I don’t know why you’re even here!” You regretted the words as soon as they left your mouth. The look on Five’s face was like you had just punched him in the gut. That’s the way it felt, at least. 

Despite the pain in his eyes, he spoke with a level voice. “I’m here because you asked me to be. If you want me to go, I will.” He stood up and you put your hand out to grab his arm and stop him. 

“No, Five. I- I don’t want you to leave. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that, I asked you to come.” 

He sat back down and looked you in the eyes. They were like green seas of emotion, “Please, tell me what’s really going on.” 

With your head in your hands you took a deep, shaky breath. You took a moment, staving off the urge to cry, and spoke softly. It was difficult, but you tried your best to meet his gaze. “I... I’m not good enough, Five.” The words were painful to get out, each one like a nail in your throat. 

After a prolonged silence, he begged, “What are you talking about?” His eyes were searching yours for any clue they could offer. 

“I’m not good enough. I’m never going to make it in this industry. Doing what you love comes so easy to you, but it’s not like that for me, okay? Any lab would be lucky to have you work for them. I have no doubt that every university will be falling over each other trying to snatch you up! No production company, no studio, no one is going to do that for me. I’m not good enough. I was barely able to do this,” you gestured to your computer, “and it’s due tomorrow and I’m not even done.” 

After a long silence and both of your gazes resting on the floor between you, Five looked up at you. 

“Come here,” Five patted the space on the bed next to him and without thinking your legs were taking you there. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and drew you in close, trying to find the right words to say. 

There was a tremble in your voice, “Why are you even with me?” 

“Hey,” Five lifted your chin so you would look him in the eyes, “You are the funniest person I know. You are kind and selfless, and you’re very smart. Usually I would add that you’re very optimistic, but recent events have me second guessing that,” you chuckled a little. “See there’s the laugh I love! You don’t need to be worried about the production companies or the studios just yet, okay? Focus on you for now. And you definitely don’t need to be comparing our work because they are such different things, it makes no sense to pit them against each other.”

You nuzzled your head in the crook of his neck, “You’re right. I’m sorry for all the stupid stuff I said. I’m just really stressed and doubting myself. Thank you. I am glad that you’re here.” 

Five kissed the top of your head and then began playing with your hair. It felt so soothing, you could’ve fallen asleep. “I’m sorry, too,” he said. 

“What? What for?” 

“For being a hypocrite. About the taking a break thing. You were right, I have been doing a shit job of taking care of myself recently, and the only reason I’ve stayed afloat is because of you. Thank you.” You wrapped him in a hug and then turned your face upwards to kiss him. 

Once you broke away, Five cleared the dishes and left to clean up, leaving you with words of encouragement. Talking to yourself, you manifested, “I can do this. No problem. Come on, let’s finish this real quick,” and then you went back to work. At some point Five slipped back into your room and burrowed under the covers, but you were so engrossed in your work you barely noticed. An hour later, with the project finished and a satisfied smile on your face, you joined him in bed. You really were glad that he was there. 

You slung your arm across his chest and he moved in his sleep to cradle his arm around your side. You felt awful about the argument, but Five’s body language didn’t show a trace of anger. You hoped that he really wasn’t mad about it and ended up falling asleep in his arms. 

Usually, when you spent the night with Five, he woke up before you. By the time you were awake, he would be sitting up in bed with a cup of coffee, or getting ready for the day. You had asked him about it, one morning- It was a Sunday- when you had woken up at 9, and he had been awake for 3 hours already. Five was sitting there, a book in his left hand, his coffee in the right, and he looked so at peace. “How long have you been awake babe?” You asked, your voice still full of sleep. 

“A couple hours or so, I’m almost done with my book.” He had smiled at you before taking a sip from his mug. Gingerly, you had turned the cover of his book towards you, letting your fingers brush against his as they moved, to read the title. 

“You goddamn nerd,” you beamed at him before flopping back down onto your pillow. “I’m going back to sleep casanova. Wake me when it’s lunch, okay?”

That next morning, however, after your fight, you managed to wake up before him. When you opened your eyes the view threw you for a loop, at first. Five was laying beside you, the outline of his body glowing softly from the little sunlight that filtered through the window. What had surprised you was the fact that he was still asleep (even at 7am) and the lack of a coffee cup beside the bed told you that he hadn’t even gotten up for coffee before falling back into slumber. He was just out. 

He was not a peaceful sleeper, at least not this morning. Five’s lips were parted slightly and the top one would tremble intermittently. His brow was furrowed and you could see his eyes moving quickly beneath their lids. Maybe he was having a bad dream. 

You brought your hand up to cup his face and ran your thumb along his jawline. It was like your touch relaxed him, and almost like a puppy, he nuzzled his head into your palm, craving your presence. With a chaste kiss to his cheek you carefully got out of bed and went to make Five his cup of coffee. As the pot brewed, you did an online search for internship opportunities in the film industry. Five was right, you needed to be more optimistic and focus on building your skillset, so why not try to get some real world experience? 

As you stood in the kitchen, you heard sleepy footsteps shuffling toward you, and turned to see Five rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he moved in your direction. “Good morning beautiful.”

He snaked his arms around your waist and pull you close for a kiss. “Good morning. You’re up late, sleep okay?” You asked, the curiosity getting the better of you. 

He winced, “Awful, actually. Turns out, arguing with your girlfriend before you go to sleep can be detrimental to your sleep cycle.” 

“I’m so sorry Five, really I am.”

He took your face in his hands and whispered, “I know, you don’t need to apologize anymore babe. It’s enough that you’re making me coffee.” You both chuckled. 

You turned to actually pour the coffee and Five wrapped his arms around you again, this time letting his chin rest on your shoulder to watch your movements from some sort of first person perspective. When the coffee was done you handed him the mug with a genuine smile, “I hope you like it.”

He took a sip and then made an exaggerated face, spitting it back into his mug, “Ugh! This is the worst coffee I’ve ever tasted!”

It was actually the best. 

You swatted his arm playfully and he pulled you into his embrace. He felt like home. 

So did you. 

For some reason, the words couldn’t leave his lips. They were right there on the tip of his tongue, yet Five couldn’t choke them out. You felt so warm in his arms, against his chest. He could feel your smile through his shirt against his skin and he didn’t want to lose this. Lose you. 

The fight from the night before lingered in the air before him and played over in his head on a loop. Despite telling you that everything was alright and you didn’t need to apologize anymore, he still thought about it. It was clear that you had been hurting and somehow he hadn’t noticed until just last night. He needed to do better, be better, for you. 

Five was worried that saying it now might seem like a poor excuse for an apology, so instead he kept the words to himself and drank his coffee, ever so grateful to still have you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like this chapter, it was tough for me to write but a lot of the argument is stuff that i personally relate to (can u say catharsis lmaooo). Im really excited for the next chapter and it should be a pretty long one! Hopefully it won’t take too long to write...
> 
> I know i keep using the term roommate but in this instance i guess she’d technically be a flatemate?? You wouldnt be sharing a room lol. Its just easier to say roommate so sorry if that was ever confusing. 
> 
> I planned to add an extra bonus chapter after the next one but I dont have any set plans for it so nows the time to submit suggestions/ requests!!


	5. Sunset

Following your fight, both you and Five were more wary around each other, both of you trying to be more receptive to one another's needs and desires. Five felt that he had been in the dark about the issues you were having for far too long before noticing and it made him feel like a shitty boyfriend and person over all. 

It was in bed one night that Five had brought up wanting to hear more about your career goals and plans. So, in the darkness under the duvet, in a hushed voice, you told him about the internships you had applied for and delved deeper into the exact nuances of your dream job in the film industry. 

You talked about things that Five had no idea about or knowledge on which humbled him a bit, and gave him a grater appreciation and respect for your career path. Occasionally, he would interrupt with a clarifying question, but for the most part, Five listened to you intently, absorbing everything you said. At some point the topic drifted into your family and who did or did not support you which led to just rambling about your childhood for a bit. Once your spiel was done, Five asked you if you had anything you wanted him to be more open with you about. 

"Could you... tell me more about your family? Your siblings I mean." When Five didn't respond, you specified the request further, "It's just, I know Klaus and he's great, I just, I want to know about your other siblings, too. You rarely talk about them with me and it makes me feel like you don't want me to know about them or like, like you don't trust me. I want you to trust me."

Five grabbed your hands and brought them to his chest in the darkness. Everything about him was quiet, even his breath, and when he finally spoke, his voice was so soft you had to strain to hear him, even in such close proximity, "I don't talk about them that much because I'm not very close with them anymore, not because I don't trust you. I think some part of me doesn't want you to know more about them because that means you would know more about that part of my life."

"I'm not gonna judge you for any of that Five. I promise." The silence returned, and even in the darkness you could have sworn that you saw tears brimming in his eyes. After a moment you decided to venture further with the conversation, "Why aren't you guys close anymore?" 

"When we turned 18, the Academy was disbanded. Part of it had to do with being old enough to finally get away from our dad, but... it was... well, it was more about Ben."

Five had told you about Ben back when you first became friends, but only that he was one of his brothers and that he had died a few years back. 

You brought your hand up to Five's face and gingerly cupped his cheek, rubbing your thumb back and forth to comfort him as he continued to speak, "It was a given for us to be pissed at dad, but usually we could separate our emotions from the missions. I guess because it was close to our birthdays, and we were feeling bold, on this particular mission we were doing a shitty job of it. None of us really cared, but Ben... Ben was always careful." He smiled a little, thinking about his brother, and then his eyes got serious and the smile disappeared, "We got so caught up in hating Dad that we, well, we were stupid... careless... We got our brother killed."

The tears were brimming in your eyes and you choked out a quiet, "I'm so sorry Five." 

You laid together in the quiet for a couple of minutes, Five on his back, and you next to him with your head against his chest. Five's breathing was just beginning to return to normal (you wondered if he had fallen asleep, exhausted by his emotions) when he spoke again. When he spoke, you rose up to a seated position. 

"Do you mind if I, uh, if I talk about him some more." Five crawled to you, laying his head in your lap, now sideways on the bed. 

"I'd love to hear more about him." You sunk your fingers into his hair as he began to tell you everything about Ben. 

"We all called him our baby brother, even though we're the same age. He was just so much more calm and sweet, even with his powers it felt like we needed to protect him. He hated using his powers. I think... I think they hurt him, but Dad didn't care." He started to trail off and then shook his head abrubtly to refocus on a happier aspect of Ben's life. "The kid loved to read. Sometimes I would jump to the library in the middle of the night just to steal him new books. He would get so mad that they were stolen but ten pages in he would forget about it. I used to find him passed out in the living room with books open on his chest- fucking nerd. You two would get along great."

“Hey! Are you calling me a nerd, punk?” You laughed together for a moment. 

That night, Five talked about Ben for at least an hour. When he stopped, you urged him to talk about his other siblings and he obliged, finding the whole thing oddly therapeutic. 

Next he talked about Vanya. They had been closest during his Academy days but after Ben’s death, Five shut himself off from her completely. He confessed that severing that relationship was one of his greatest regrets. 

By the time he got through everyone, the sun was rising and your eyes were so heavy, you could hardly keep them open. You vaguely remembered whispering to Five, just before your eyes shut, "Don't give up on them, baby," and then burrowing your face into the pillow and knocking out. 

When you woke up again it was 2 in the afternoon and you silenty thanked the Gods that it was a Saturday. Five was no longer in bed, but you could hear his and Klaus’s hushed voices beyond the closed door. You could only make out a few words, something about “a pain in the ass, calling, and 2 years,” but the meaning was lost on you. You got dressed and wandered out into the kitchen. 

Klaus was sat up on the counter eating cereal from a mug and Five was leaning against it next to him.   
“Afternoon boys,” you said grabbing yourself a mug and snatching the box of lucky charms from Klaus.   
“Did you even sleep babe?” You asked as you hopped up on the counter as well. 

“Not really, we’ve been talking for awhile- sorry if we woke you up.”

“No, it’s chill. What’s going on?”

“Well,” Klaus began, “I don’t know what you two talked about last night but our favorite jerk suddenly wants to get the band back together.” 

“Really? That’s great! Family Reunion!” Both Klaus and Five’s expressions were much more skeptical than yours. 

 

Five and Klaus planned the whole thing out, inviting all of their siblings over for dinner that week. Five was more nervous than you’d ever seen him before, but you just kept reassuring him that everything would work out fine. When the day came around you happily helped Klaus and Five prepare the food and then slipped out before the rest of the Hargreeves arrived. Five had jumped you right to your door and given you a kiss goodbye in your doorway. 

“Everything is gonna be fine, Five. I love you.” It wasn’t until Five had jumped back home that either of you realized what you had said. 

Instead of over analyzing the entire interaction, you decided to email one of the internship supervisors who had responded to your application. She seemed really nice and you were hoping that you got accepted for Spring. For the rest of the evening you corresponded with her and even took a phone interview- the situation was looking good.

She told you that you would know by the end of the week, so you hung up the phone and settled in to watch TV and get an early night’s sleep. 

 

The next morning, you went to class from 10-11:30 and then picked up chinese food before huffing it over to Five’s. You hadn’t talked to him since last night when you told him that you loved him and then sent him off to his family reunion- wow you had shitty timing. As you stood on his doorstep, you resolved to not bring it up unless the right opportunity presented itself or if Five brought it up. For now, you had to be prepared for whatever happened the night before with all of the Hargreeves siblings under one roof for the first time in 2 years. 

You didn’t know what you were expecting when you knocked on the door, but a terrifyingly huge man with a blond buzzcut answering it was not exactly what you had in mind. 

“Who are you?” He asked in a deep voice- you wondered if he had just woken up. In your stunned stupor, you did not answer him. 

Five called out from the kitchen in a slurred voice, “Who is it you giant idiot?” 

“Five?” You called out and he appeared at the doorway, pushed Luther aside, and wrapped you in a warm hug. He smelled slightly of booze.   
“Are you drunk? It’s not even noon.” 

“Maybe a liiiiil bit, don’t be maad,” he pouted at you before he noticed the bag of takeout in your hand, “is that Chinese?” 

“Yup, I don’t know if there’s enough for all of us though,” you said eyeing Luther, who was still standing in the doorway, arms crossed, with a calculating look on his face. 

“Oh don’t worry about Luther, I think he eats like a whole cow for every meal so we really can’t be expected to provide for him. The others can call for pizza or something- this Chinese food though? It’s all ours, baby.” Five had a devilish look in his eyes by the end of his monologue and you laughed at drunk him. He gingerly grabbed the food from your hands and gave you a kiss on the cheek before leading you inside by the hand, “I guess we have some introductions to make.” You were greeted by three more pairs of unfamiliar eyes. 

“Everyone, meet my girlfriend,” Five introduced you by name, “Babe, meet everyone. Diego, Allison, Vanya, you know Klaus, and uh, I guess you kinda met Luther already.” 

Klaus rose from the lying position he was in on the floor as if following the scent of food like a cartoon character, “Is that...” sniff sniff, “Chinese food? God you’re the best!” 

Five protectively wrapped his arms around the boxes and you bit your lip. There definitely was not enough for everyone. 

So you spent the whole afternoon at Five’s place, meeting his siblings and getting to know each other. You really liked Vanya and Diego. Allison was alright but Luther just kind of seemed like an asshole. He always had his arms crossed, and you could tell he was quick to judgements. At some point in the night, Vanya had asked you how long you and Five had been together. When you scrunched your eyebrows and thought before responding, “I think 2 and a half months now,” Luther made sure his scoff was heard from across the room. Whatever his problem was, it sure made him a terrible guest. 

At about 4pm, people started leaving. Allison was first to go, claiming she had an audition to prep for and Diego followed closely behind. He was supposed to be at the police academy early the next day.

Klaus had passed out on the floor long ago, so once the other two were gone, Vanya felt it was best to be on her way as well. When the door had shut behind her, Klaus moved just enough to grab a trash can and hurl into it. You volunteered to help him into his bed once he had finished and as you propped him up, you heard Five invite Luther to leave. 

“Well, we had a good time, but I need to help my girlfriend put Klaus in bed. I’ll see you around, yeah.” 

And then you were out of earshot. Klaus reeked of alcohol and weed and as you sat him on the edge of his bed you heard a crash from the living room. Klaus giggled loudly, falling around you, “Hehe Luther’s back at it.”

“What are you talking about Klaus? What does that mean?” 

“The ape is trying to get our,” he hiccuped loudly, “favorite jerk back... hehehehhehhe.... Five can’t be happy about that... hehhe,” his speech was slurred and slow. He shut his eyes and seemed to instantly fall asleep. 

“Just sleep it off, okay Klaus?” You got him under the covers and pulled his garbage can up to the side of his bed just in case. You got out to the living room just in time to see the door slam and Five picking up glass off of the floor in a fit of anger. You had never seen him that mad before. 

“Babe, what happened?” You asked from the hallway. Five just kept cleaning up the glass, hot anger exuding from him in waves. 

“Five? What’s going on? Tell me what happened,” you moved to his side where he was bent down. When your hand met his shoulder he stopped in his tracks and the glass he had collected fell out of his palm. 

“Luther is a fucking idiot.” You grabbed his hands and pulled him up to the couch.

“What did he do?”

“He wanted me to go back. To the academy. To dad.” He swallowed deeply, and then the anger turned to sadness and Five’s face was slung over your shoulder, crying, as you held him in a hug. You rubbed his back and kissed him on the side of his head, heart heavy for him. 

“You never have to go back there, baby.”

 

That night, after the apartment was cleaned up, emotions flushed out, and you had made dinner for Five and yourself (and enough left overs for when Klaus got up later) you were watching television and still ignoring an important conversation about your feelings for each other. 

This was when your father called. Klaus was sitting on top of the coffee table (eating aforementioned leftovers) while you were nestled into Five's side on the couch, shoveling popcorn into your mouth. His arm was wrapped around you, fingers absentmindedly messing with your hair. It was mid chew that the phone rang and you accepted the call with a muffled, "Hello," and reluctantly got up to take the call in Five's room. Once in his room, with the mouthful of popcorn successfully executed, you reiterated clearly, "Hello? Dad?"

It was a good two episodes of Fringe and a bit of muffled yelling before you returned to the living room. Klaus and Five looked a little concerned, Klaus even offering to roll you a joint, "Phew, parents, amiright?" You gratefully acepted his offer and he ran off to his room as you retook your seat next to Five. 

"Do you... wanna talk about it?" Five broached the subject.

You took a deep breath before responding, "Just stupid family stuff. Plus, apparently I have to go home this weekend for my parents' anniversary party, but like, I really don't want to see everyone. It's going to be torture, you know? I can only take so much of the 'what are you doing with your life' and 'thinking of settling down anytime soon' questions. Plus I’d have to leave like tomorrow morning." You rolled your eyes.

"Jesus, is it really that bad? There's nothing redeeming about having to go home?"

"I mean there's the dog, and my brother's kid is pretty great. I just, there's gonna be a lot of family there and it's... it's overwhelming is all. Plus, you and I were gonna have a monster movie marathon this weekend, that's so much more fun than an anniversary party!" 

Five bit his lip, deep in thought, as he mulled over the situation. After a moment, he suggested, "We could still have the marathon..."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm assuming you have a TV at home? Or we could use a laptop." You still weren't getting what he meant so you stared at him with a blank face until he elaborated, "Let me go with you." 

"Five, I couldn't make you do that-"

"You're not making me. I want to go," He confirmed. You gave him a doubtful look and he continued, smiling at you, "You just met all of my siblings. Can’t I meet your family? Come on, it'll be fun."

Just then, Klaus reemerged with a freshly rolled joint which you gladly accepted.

"What did I miss?" Klaus asked, lighting up for you. 

Five smiled at his brother, "You're going to have the apartment to yourself this weekend, because we," He gestured to the two of you," are going on a roadtrip."

 

The next morning, Five stood in front of your old ford explorer, hands on his hips and a confused look in his eyes, "Okay when I told Klaus we were going on a roadtrip, I didn't think we would actually be driving all the way there."

"How else would we get there?" You threw the last bag into the trunk and closed it up. 

"I could just jump us there," he said matter of factly. 

You chuckled and gave him a kiss, "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard babe." And then you climbed into the driver's seat while Five stood in front of you dumbfounded. You called out to him, "Hurry up, we have a long drive ahead of us and a lot of snacks to get through!" 

An hour later and you and Five had covered about 85 miles and absolutely demolished a bag of salsa verde doritos. Five was very obviously disgruntled about having to drive, but you had explained several times that you couldn't just show up randomly with no explanation of how you arrived and you had promised him time and time again that the roadtrip would be fun. You talked about his siblings- their lives which he had been recapped on before your arrival and the things that had happened before you got there- and a little bit about school but still no conversation about the 3 words. You had said them just 2 nights ago, and even with the excitement of meeting the Hargreeves family, it was still fresh in your mind. Five hadn’t brought it up and neither had you, but you had to admit it was eating you up inside. Did he not love you, too? Would he have said it back if the timing hadn’t been so off?

When a song came on the radio that neither of you particularly cared for, you turned it down. Feeling brave (but not brave enough to ask about the I love you) you interrupted the silence, facing forward eyes on the road, “So, you know I applied for that internship for next semester... I uh... I got it Five. I got the internship,” finally you turned to look at Five. He had the biggest smile on his face and suddenly you were smiling ear to ear as well, anxiety dissolved by his happiness for you. 

“That’s amazing! When did you find out? When do you start?” 

“She called me this morning just before you came over. I move out to LA on January 5th. The academic office cleared it for credits, too. Oh my god I’m so excited!” 

“Babe that’s amazing I’m so proud of you!” 

And then the front right tire went flat.   
“Fuck!” You tried to keep in control of the wheel and slowed down without using the brake. When you finally came to a stop you pulled up on the ebrake and met Five’s gaze. The chips he had been holding were scattered around him. 

“What the fuck just happened?” He asked. 

“I think we have a flat.” You smiled sheepishly. 

As you both stood on the side of the road staring at the tire, Five started in with the, “told you we should have jumped,” bullshit. 

“Jesus Christ Five it’s a run on flat we just have to give it a little time and then we can get back on the road.” You sighed and leaned back against the car feeling a little cold. It was the first week of December and the cold weather was starting in. Five joined you and took your hands in his, warming them up.

“I know babe,” you both sighed and then Five gave you a coy smile, a plan obviously brewing in his mind. “I saw a donut shop a few miles back...”   
you smiled back at him, locked the car, and then in a second you were sitting in a tiny booth, surrounded by warmth and the smell of donuts and coffee. 

An older woman came to the table with a sweet smile. Her name tag read Wendy, “What can I get you two kids?” 

“Can I get a glazed donut and a cup of coffee please,” you smiled back at her. 

“Sure thing sweetie, and for you?”

“Same for me, thanks.” 

“No problem, may I ask what brings you two in? We’re a pretty small town and I don’t recall seeing you here before,” her question was so genuine you couldn’t help but be happy to answer.

“Were heading down to my parents place.”

“Oh how darling, home for the holidays?”

This time Five answered, “No, we’re just there for the weekend. Gonna meet her folks,” he winked and Wendy chuckled. 

“Well isn’t that sweet, I’ll go get your coffee and donuts.” 

You fiddled with a sugar packet until Wendy brought the grub. As she set a mug down in front of you, you noticed her wedding ring, “Who’s the lucky person?” 

She brought her hand to her heart and blushed, “Oh Denise was my partner for 32 years, God rest her soul.” 

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Five spoke before taking a sip of his coffee. 

“That’s not necessary, it’s been awhile since she passed, but it was great while it lasted. I actually, I have a picture of us in my locket here... if you’d like to see?” Wendy looked sheepish as she undid the chain of her necklace. 

“I’d love to see,” You gave her a reassuring smile. 

She opened the locket to reveal a picture of two beautiful young women, holding hands and smiling. They looked positively in love.   
“This was back in the 70’s. We had been dating for a little under a year, but we were so happy together.” 

“It’s beautiful.” You said. And Five nodded his agreement. 

Wendy reclasped her necklace and turned to face Five. “Well, all I can say is I hope that her parents like you.” 

Five blushed, “Me too, Wendy.” 

After a couple of cups of coffee and your donuts, you reluctantly left the warmth of the shop with a wave goodbye to Wendy and got back on the road. The tire was good to drive on now, and there was quite a ways left to go on the journey. 

Back on the road, everything was smooth sailing up until the last half hour of the drive. You and Five had spent the last five hours singing along with the radio or finding weird would you rather questions to ask each other. If silence fell over you, it was comfortable and natural. 

It was around 4 when the tire pressure warning light came on. 

“You have got to be shitting me.”

“What happened?” Five asked. 

“The tire pressure warning came on,” you replied. 

“I thought you said it was a run on flat?” 

“It is, it should be fine we’re almost there anyway I’ll just have to go slower.” You flicked on your hazards and just kept going, dropping your speed considerably. 

“This is gonna take foreverrr,” Five whined and you shot him a look. 

“You’re the one who wanted to come with me.”

“Oh please, you’d be miserable without me baby.”

You rolled your eyes and focused on driving instead of Five’s smug face in the passenger seat. When a car came up behind you going about 30 mph faster than you were, you pulled over to the shoulder and let them pass. As you drove, you watched the scenery. It was golden hour and if anything good had come from the flat tire it was that you were forced to slow down and enjoy the view. The drive to your parents house wasn’t ugly, especially at the current part of the drive. Forest enclosed the two lane highway and when the gaps got big enough you could just barely get a glimpse of a lake beyond the trees. 

“Hey Five, look over there,” you got his attention, “that lake just past the trees here is where we used to spend almost every day in the summertime.” 

“It’s beautiful,” he said, “we should stop there for a second.” 

“The park entrance is a couple miles ahead, it’s gonna be so pretty at sunset.” 

Now, with just a couple of miles to go before a bit of a rest, you found yourself excited and happy. You really were glad that Five had volunteered to come along- the trip would have been considerably less exciting without him. As you refocused on the road ahead of you, you noticed a car behind you getting closer very fast. 

Shit, there weren’t any turn outs close by and as the road was narrow and windy you weren’t supposed to pass on this stretch. With no other option you grit your teeth and thought apologetic thoughts to the driver of the other car. It was like their annoyance was radiating from them as they literally rode your ass. 

“Jesus fucking Christ can’t that guy see I have my hazards on?” You said to Five, feeling more annoyed than apologetic now. “There’s nowhere for me to go asshole!” You directed the comment at the other driver. Suddenly they pulled up beside you, blatantly ignoring the solid line and passed. Just as they made it in front of you, a car came hurdling down from the other direction barely missing them. 

“Oh my god! You fucking asshole! That could have ended terribly! Fuck you!” You flipped off the car in front of you and honked your horn several times as it quickly faded from view. As you breathed out deep breathes of anger, you heard Five laughing softly. You turned to him with narrowed eyes, “What’s so funny?” 

He chuckled and leaned his head up against his palm. His arm was resting on the window. “I love you,” he smiled at you the most peaceful smile you had ever seen. You smiled back, any anger in you absolved. 

He loved you. 

Ten minutes later you pulled into the park driveway to the lake. It was a short walk down to the shore, and you grabbed a blanket from the trunk to stave off the evening chill. 

Down by the water, as the sunset cast its pallet onto the soft waves of the lake, you sat wrapped up beside Five. His arm snaked around you, your head rested on his shoulder, and you looked up at him, content. Any worries you had about the weekend, or the coming months, or as far into the future as you could see completely dissolved. 

“So you love me, huh?”

He smiled and pressed a sweet kiss to the crown of your head, “Yeah. I love you.” 

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think I have a plan for the bonus chapter but if anyone has any requests or suggestions please let me know. I hope you guys enjoyed the story (: I’d love to hear your thoughts!


	6. Bonus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 4 years later

Your surroundings seemed to pass you by so slowly as you walked through the apartment complex to the lift at the end of the hall. You were so tired, it took you a full minute of standing in the elevator before you realized you hadn’t pressed the button for your floor. 

Well, that explained why it hadn’t moved yet. 

As the doors closed, you checked your watch- 12:48 am. The whole week had been early shoots starting at 6am and lasting the whole day well beyond the 12 hour mark. The bags under your eyes said what you didn’t have the energy to. Luckily, you didn’t have to work for the next couple of days. The elevator dinged loudly, announcing that you had arrived on the 4th floor. 

“Oh good, you’re home” Anna, the elderly woman who lived at the end of your hall poked her head out. 

“Anna I told you, you don’t need to wait up for me.” 

She gave you a sweet smile in response, “Sure sweetie, I just worry about you sometimes. Well, you have a goodnight.” She sent a wink your way as she slunk back into her apartment. It came off as weird but you were too tired to dwell on it. 

“Goodnight,” you whispered to the now empty hallway. 

The first thing you noticed when you opened your door was the smell. It smelled like someone had eaten dinner in your apartment. But you lived alone- Allison had roomed with you for 2 years but that was when you first moved to LA, now she lived with Patrick and was even getting married at the end of the month. 

You cautiously hung your purse up on the rack and moved into your living room, pulling out your phone to send a quick goodnight text to Five. As you hit send, you heard the ding of a notification from within your apartment. That was when you found him, sprawled across the couch, fast asleep. His phone was on the coffee table before him, the screen lit up with the message you had just sent. You smiled, feeling a warmth grow from your stomach up through your chest. 

Five was here, sleeping on your couch. Was this a dream? A hallucination?

It had been five months since you last saw him. You had spent Christmas and New Years together in New York where Five was living and back in school. But after you had returned to LA, life got in the way. While you had tried to call and video chat as often as possible, you were both very busy people and you had forbidden Five from jumping cross country many years ago when he had visited and spent three days asleep because it had worn him out so badly. 

But he was here now. 

As quietly as you could, you changed into a big tshirt, smiling through the tiredness. Feeling happy to be out of your jeans and rather hungry, you tip toed to the kitchen. It was then that you realized Five had made pasta for dinner and left you a bowl in the fridge. There was a note attached to it, “Just like old times <3”

As you ate your last bite of pasta and placed the empty dish in the sink, you heard Five sleepily call your name from the couch as he sat up, now awake. Turning around and quickly wiping the tears from your eyes you smiled at him. 

His brow furrowed in a look full of worry and care. He must have seen the tears. “What’s wrong baby?”

You crawled into his lap and he wrapped his arms around you in a tight hug. Nestling your face in the crook of his neck, the emotions began to over flow. 

His voice was so soft, “Are these good tears or bad tears?” 

You chuckled, “Good. I’m really tired and I missed you a lot, sorry.” You pulled back so that you were facing him and he wiped the tears from your face before giving you a kiss. 

“Nothing to be sorry about.” For some reason his understanding made you want to cry even more. You swallowed tears and rested your forehead against his feeling all of your tiredness from the last week wash over you. 

“I love you Five.”

“I know. I love you, too.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead before standing up, picking you up at the same time. You wrapped your legs around his waist and rested your head on his shoulder. “Come on let’s go to bed.” 

You felt a wave of guilt, “Shouldn’t I be the one taking care of you? You’re the one that traveled all the way here today. You’re probably jet lagged and exhausted!” A yawn escaped your lips and you blushed. 

Five just chuckled, “Are you kidding? Babe. You’re falling asleep on me as we speak.” You nodded, giving up the argument, and nestled deeper into the safety of his arms. 

He carried you into your bedroom and tucked you in before climbing in beside you. Five assumed the big spoon position and wrapped his arms around you, intertwining your legs. You sighed with content, feeling happier than you had in the last 5 months. Sleep came quickly that night. 

 

— 

 

When you woke up, Five was no longer in bed but the empty coffee cup on the bedside table reassured you that last night wasn’t just a dream. Still, a bit of panic rose up through your throat and you found yourself calling out to him, “Five?” 

A couple of seconds later he appeared by your side with a cup of chai and a loving smile, “Good morning.” 

“Morning Five.” You gave him a kiss and then crinkled your nose, “Ew you have morning breath.” 

Five laughed, “I’m not done with my coffee yet!” 

“You’re lucky I kept the left over coffee beans from the last time you were here.” 

“I’m eternally indebted to you my love.” Despite his breath, you leaned forward into another kiss. You just couldn’t resist. “Come eat breakfast baby.” 

You smiled and felt your stomach rumble. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

As you both dug into the blueberry pancakes, you caught up with each other. 

“How long were you waiting for me last night?”

Five smiled sheepishly, “I got here around 8. I kinda failed at staying up though huh.” 

You giggled, “just a little.” 

“Well I hope what I’m about to say will make up for that.” You raised your brows in anticipation, urging him to go on. “I’m staying through the end of the month- Allison’s wedding!” 

“That’s amazing! Oh my god that’s great Five!” 

“I was hoping you’d say that.” A cocky smile came over his lips, “Hey, you wanna be my plus one?” 

You darted your fist across the table and playfully hit his shoulder, “You asshole, you know I’m invited.”

He smiled, “Duh.” Suddenly the mood shifted and Five seemed... shy. “Just wanted to make sure we were going together.” 

“Of course. Why would you even ask that?” You reached for his hand. 

“I mean it’s been like five months since we got to actually see each other and I know I’m busy with school and you’re really busy working here... I guess there was still a little irrational part of my brain that worried there was something... wrong. That you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore.”

The vulnerability in his voice was heart wrenching. “Five, I love you more and more every day no matter the distance. Miles between us doesn’t erase the last four years of being together. Of course I want to go to your sister’s wedding with you and of course I still want to be with you. Why didn’t you tell me you were worried about this?” 

Five looked down at his hands. Silence. 

“Five?” 

“I don’t know it was just a little voice in the back of my head and I didn’t want to upset you. Plus it seemed like something that would be better to bring up in person.” 

“Baby I’m always thinking about you. I can’t always let you know when I’m thinking about you but I promise I am. And while the distance sucks it makes me feel so fucking loved knowing that you stay up an extra three hours every weekend to try and make sure we talk on the phone before I go to bed here. Or that when Klaus does something stupid you send me a text telling me about it. Or that-“

“Okay okay I get it babe. I knew I had nothing to be worried about but it is good to hear you tell me that too.” You smiled at each other for a moment. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too.” You winked at Five and bit your lip, “So... how should we spend my day off?” 

He smirked back at you, “I have some ideas.”

 

—

 

Allison’s wedding was absolutely beautiful, of course. And you found yourself thoroughly enjoying yourself for the whole night. Being with Five made the whole thing just that much better. It was also fun for you to catch up with the other Hargreeves siblings (save for Luther who declined his invitation). Vanya was sweet as ever and her girlfriend Demi was great as well. She told you all about the orchestra she had recently joined, and the way that Demi gushed about how great Vanya was with the violin was absolutely adorable. Diego told you all about the police academy and introduced you to his girlfriend, Eudora. Klaus was... well, Klaus. But you were pleasantly surprised to find him glued to a new boyfriend, a man named Dave who seemed to be quite a good fit. Allison had left an empty seat in the middle of the front row with a reserved sign that read “Ben Hargreeves.” It stood out in the otherwise packed room. You were sure that there would be some tabloid article about it tomorrow asking who the missing wedding guest could be. 

Somewhere after the dinner and a few drinks you stepped outside to get some fresh air, grabbing a full champagne flute from a waiter as you went to the balcony. It was dark outside and even this far from the city you still couldn’t see many stars. But the weather was perfect and your heart felt so full from the festivities and from having Five home for the past week. You didn’t want it to end. 

When the sliding door opened behind you, you didn’t even bother to look, you could already tell it was Klaus. Sure enough, he offered you a drag off of his joint and leaned back on the railing beside you. “Thanks. I like Dave, by the way. He seems like a keeper.” You winked. 

Klaus chuckled, “Yeah I think so too.” You passed the joint back to Klaus and the two of you stood in a much appreciated silence. After a couple of passes back and forth, Klaus spoke, “My brother missed you a lot, you know?” 

“Yeah. I missed him too. This week has been really great.” 

“Well, I missed you too. It’s weird how we all like grew up and now you’re not around our apartment all the time anymore- I guess you haven’t been for a few years now huh?” 

“Yeah. I miss that a lot too, and you. No one rolls ‘em like you Klaus.” He gave you a big smile. “Growing up is so fucking weird.”

“Yeah it is. God my sister got married today and I just moved out of my brother’s apartment. We’re both 25! 25!!” 

You laughed at his outburst and then realized, “wait Five didn’t tell me you moved out?” 

Klaus clammed up. “Oh uh... it’s really uh lowkey right now. Yeah not a lot of people know.” 

“Oh. Okay.” 

The sliding door opened and you heard Five’s voice from behind you, “Hey Klaus, mind giving us a few minutes alone?” 

“I would like nothing more than that dear brother.” And then Klaus was gone, sucked back inside the reception. 

“What were you guys talking about?”

“Not much. He did mention that he moved out though...”

“Oh shit, I meant to tell you about that! It just kept slipping my mind.” 

You gave him a doubtful look. “Oh so you mean when I asked you about Klaus and how he was doing, you just completely forgot to mention that you guys don’t even live together anymore?” 

Five shrugged, “I guess I was more focused on someone else- my girlfriend. She’s about your height, same hair and eyes. Hadn’t seen her since Christmas so you know she was all I could think about at the time of questioning.” 

You smiled. “Nice try. Seriously why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Okay, okay. I give. I was waiting to tell you that I’m planning on transferring schools.” 

“Wow that’s... a big decision Five. Where are you gonna go?”

“Well, if you’ll have me, I was planning on moving out here.” 

Your jaw may as well have been on the floor, it fell open with surprise. “Are you serious?!”

Five nodded. “I already have a job lined up for fall in graduate research here.”

“Oh my god that’s amazing! Of course you can live with me babe. Wow I’m just so shocked, this is great!”

Five’s smile started to turn down at the edges, “I guess I’m just a little worried what your parents might think about you living with your boyfriend... And to be honest when I think about living with my girlfriend, just something doesn’t feel right...” 

“Five what are you talking abou-“

Five slowly knelt to the floor taking your hands in his. When he looked up at you it was if he was looking at you with all of the love in the world. Your stomach filled with butterflies as tears began to form in your eyes. 

“I think I’d be a lot happier if I could call you my wife.” 

Your smile was so big that your cheeks physically ached. 

“Will you marry me?”

You nodded, “Yes, Five. I’ll marry you,” and suddenly you were being spun around in Five’s arms as he kissed you with so much love and adoration. You laughed as he peppered your face with kisses and your heart beat faster than a freaking humming bird. Five put you down and enveloped you in a hug, placing a final kiss to the crown of your head. 

“Oh!” He dug into his suit jacket and pulled out a ring box, “I almost forgot to give you the ring.” It was perfect, of course. As he slid it onto your finger, you could have sworn that you saw tears in his eyes. “I love you.” 

You tenderly grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss. When you pulled away you whispered, “I love you too.” And then you stood on the balcony for a moment in shared silence, wrapped in each other’s arms, hearts completely full with love. 

After a few minutes you both decided to go back inside to the party. As Five lead you, hand in hand toward the loud music and elaborately decorated reception he paused a moment in thought. 

“You know, I bet Allison will be pretty pissed when she finds out we got engaged on her wedding day.... Let’s go tell her!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally did it, the long awaited (by like 4 people) bonus chapter! hope you guys enjoyed the story. (: <3


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